Should I get a D2?

Hey up all,

Do you think that a Discovery 2 is right for me based on the below? Is buying one a decision I’ll live to regret?

Firstly it would be my “main car” not a weekend hobby. I do 15,000 miles annually and drive a 25 mile round trip to work mon-fri either on an A-road or country lanes. I have about £5-6,000 to buy it with and probably have £2,000 ish a year for repairs. It would be my only way of getting to work.

I’m handy but have never done anything with cars. I have a small uncovered drive on which I could work on it if needed...

I was planning on going for a diesel, 2004. Preferably an auto. Ive read/heard that it’s them or a >98 (with head gasket done) that are the best. Do the dates of manufacture matter that much or are they all ok to rely on? Or any?
The alternative is a Mitsubishi Shogun.

I fell in love with LRs and Discos in particular when I was a kid and my parents had one in the 90s. The clutch went so they got rid of it (still haven’t forgiven them) I love LRs and would love to have a disco2 for the rest of my life. But don’t know if I have the time and/or money to look after one yet. Should I just go with a Shogun?

Many many thanks,

Charlie

I went through exactly the same question about a year and a bit ago when I had my defender. Ended up buying a 2001 manual Es spec ,with the view to keeping LR's. Quickly realised how much easier the disco is to live with, and sold the defender. Ive used mine pretty much daily for a 35 mile round trip to work everyday, and it's been brilliant. It's only broken down once, and that wasn't it's fault.
Reckon it's cost about £500 to keep it going this year,but I've done most of that myself, so your £2000 a year should be ample if your getting work done by garages.
I don't know about different model years and their benefits, but I'd try and get one that hasn't been modded and obviously as low a milage as you can afford.
Would highly recommend them, especially as the era of heavy diesels is on the way out, so enjoy it while you still can.

Yes

£6k seems a bit much for an 18 year old car unless it is immaculate condition

Hi,
Had mine for 5 years now! Spent a bit of money on her spent a bit of time under her spent a bit of time inside of her and don't see that changing over the next however many years to come!

And the best thing about it! Is that there is nothing about it that you can not do yourself! You may need some others for expertise or advice but that is educational for you for next time

Plus! The expertise on this forum is invaluable! And I don't think that anything as been left out if your will to search on previous posts.

As others have said.
But do get one whose chassis has been done.

At that price look for one with a galvanised chassis. Alternatively, consider one that is otherwise excellent but needs a new chassis, pay <£1000 and spend about £4K getting a new galvanised chassis put on. Otherwise, buy from an enthusiast not a dealer, and make sure the chassis is 100% solid (there are some out there, but they are rare). Go to see it in a pair of overalls and get straight underneath with a screwdriver and don't be afraid to give it a poke. Look for any metal that feels soft or has any sign of laminating rust. Check the rear in particular as this goes first. Look for leaks while you are there. If you know someone with a good one, take the time to look it over in detail. Knowing what good looks like is half the battle.

We got a D2 last year and have spent a lot of money on it, although to be fair a large element of that was a full service of everything and various enhancements for green-laning. The key reason we bought it was that, as @Stanleysteamer said, the chassis was sound - about the only thing that was as it turned out, so make sure that you get an expert to give it a thorough inspection before you buy anything. Also check the VED - if I remember right from when we were looking there was a jump in VED around 2004. The main reason we went for a Disco 2 over a Defender was, as @Defender91 says, that it is much better for long distance driving, and since we are going to have to travel to do any serious green-laning, that was a big factor for us. Very usable as an everyday car and the one we now tend to use if we have to pop down to the shops or something. I have no experience of a Shogun but it is bound to be more reliable than a Discovery. However, it won't have the same availability of parts, accessories, servicing, forums, clubs and fun that a Land Rover has. Buy wisely and enjoy.

Go for it, more modern than a similar age Shogun, a better drive too.

They are holding their value well.

Condition is all.

Later the better, mine is fully loaded, first owner company car, second used for towing.

Most will be remapped.

Try to get one with locking centre diff, makes a lot of difference off road and in snow.

Air suspension is pretty reliable.
ACE can leak, either get one without or hydraulic hose convert when it leaks.
Most parts are still available, except I THINK front bumper.
Engine is very good, one of LRs top three Diesels.

If you see galvanised chassis, and it has CDL prepare to pay a lot, possibly £8k, mine is worth roughly £7k with welded repaired chassis.

As much as I love landrovers, if I was after a reliable diesel 4x4, I'd get a landcruiser

Col

I paid strong money for mine, chassis and underside had been blasted and painted. Not what I'd have done but I can clearly see how good the chassis is. Check inner wings closely for rust, I found some when I removed a wing but I'm just going to clean it out and protect with dinitrol and gear oil. This is good treatment for the chassis as well. Cars in the southern counties are usually better. Also what about a Freelander, generally a very good reputation. Rust is less common, here in N Ireland rear subframes are often seriously corroded.

Colthebrummie said:

As much as I love landrovers, if I was after a reliable diesel 4x4, I'd get a landcruiser

Col

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Or a G-Wagen, but I'd be paying through the nose!!!!

Good D2s are going for more than folks on here realise. Land cruisers (we get the Prado here) are soulless cars, and both them and the Shogun are independent suspension vehicles. Thats fine around town but compared to a D2 the capabilities of the suspension offroad are in different leagues. With ACE i find for a beam axle it handles very well.
Buy one from an enthusiast and pay good money for it, and you will save in the long run. Manual is more economical and id get a 15p facelift. Chassis can be repaired within reason and if you can mig weld, its well doable at home. Water ingress kills the electrics so for me, if its got wet carpets (underneath!), walk away!

ronsealdeath said:

Good D2s are going for more than folks on here realise. Land cruisers (we get the Prado here) are soulless cars, and both them and the Shogun are independent suspension vehicles. Thats fine around town but compared to a D2 the capabilities of the suspension offroad are in different leagues. With ACE i find for a beam axle it handles very well.
Buy one from an enthusiast and pay good money for it, and you will save in the long run. Manual is more economical and id get a 15p facelift. Chassis can be repaired within reason and if you can mig weld, its well doable at home. Water ingress kills the electrics so for me, if its got wet carpets (underneath!), walk away!

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Yes thats true, landcruisers are souless compared to landrovers. Landrovers do have plenty of character, the trouble is the character is that of a petulant teenager.

Col

D2 2003 Td5 (facelift model) - love it! No transmission or engine issues since purchased new! I do my own regular servicing and have learned quite a lot - especially from people here on Landyzone.

Here's what I've personally done myself since purchasing new in 2003 (now 19 years old and most parts still original):

• Both rear air bags (used Contitech OEM) - pretty easy to do
• EGR bypass
• New Britpart starter motor (before that I reconditioned the starter solenoid twice) - looks like Britpart aren't so bad as it's been great for several years now; the Britpart starter motor felt as heavy as the original Denso which was very reliable
• Removed Denso alternator, cleaned and installed new brushbox
• New Serpentine belt and tensioner (though original Contitech belt was as good as new!)
• New fuel pump (VDO Siemens)
• New HP diesel fuel line - eventually replaced this troublesome line myself and used lots of anti-chafe tape (previously done 3 times at the dealer and LR mechanic!) - do it yourself and do it well - no trouble since! Not hard to do
• Have replaced brake discs and pads all round three times
• Fuel pressure reducing valve - did this myself unsuccessfully with parts sourced through eBay - LR mechanic did it and perfect for 6 years now
• New coolant expansion bottle - original one cracked at the outlet spigot on the bottom. New one was aftermarket and has been perfect for many years
• Leaking fuel cooler - simple fix, but a little fiddly to access properly

Parts (LR, OEM, aftermarket and second-hand) aren't difficult to come by and are reasonably priced.

The AC clutch was recently repaired by an AC specialist (I couldn't find a clutch), Two hoses were replaced by an LR mechanic when my wife was driving and a hose burst!

I do a fair bit of towing now and everything has been perfect - the air bags are great for towing!

There are other smaller things, but overall I love this vehicle! My son has just started uni and he wants a Discovery Td5 now!!!

Kenbo said:

I paid strong money for mine, chassis and underside had been blasted and painted. Not what I'd have done but I can clearly see how good the chassis is. Check inner wings closely for rust, I found some when I removed a wing but I'm just going to clean it out and protect with dinitrol and gear oil. This is good treatment for the chassis as well. Cars in the southern counties are usually better. Also what about a Freelander, generally a very good reputation. Rust is less common, here in N Ireland rear subframes are often seriously corroded.

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No real issues with rust in Australia in general - no salt on the roads. The small oil leaks keep things well protected!

Did a similar thing few years back, had mine as main car and work vehicle, (electrician, so plenty of gear but not much weight to carry) only ever nearly broke down on restarting from customers took ages of fuel priming, was injector seals so the week between that and replacing them just park facing down hill to get round it. Otherwise no major issues just basic servicing, oils etc, mine was 04, td5 auto, relatively comfortable for long drives although pedal position used to get to me after two hours or more, ache in right foot. Can be rough over bumpy roads, but that’s expected from ladder chassis solid axle, body work was fine just needed patching on sills and bit on rear chassis. Don’t worry about mid and front parts of chassis, it’s from rear doors/arches and back they rot. No major issues as like others say, galv chassis, new rear 1/2 or rear 1/3rd are available to cut and weld in. Only reason i sold mine was when my son was born, surprisingly tight in rear seats to fit baby seats without moving front seat toward and not the safest, low speed there fine but say accident on motorway could get messy especially since body doesn’t have the strongest construction.
Then went to 06 x5, much better all round for handling, safety, passenger space, less boot space, actually very good in snow, felt better than the disco, however £600 tax and rising cost of diesel I was using £80 a week so now in Volvo v70.

Had my D2 9 years it eats time to self maintain them but parts are reasonable. Expect it to throw up something as curveball to be fixed every year, and usually when it’s freezing outside. Chassis are the key to watch for as everyone has said. Had to put a rear qtr on mine last year. It’s an 03 with only 130k on the clock. Commuting don’t expect much above 25mpg. I commuted in mine for a few years. Watch the headlining for a sign of the sun roofs leaking.